that's equivalent to the combined populations of california and connecticut. the u.s. department of agriculture says use of food stamps has increased 70% since 2007. >>> time now, just about 8:20. there's some encouraging news about a school in the east bay, a high school, where there are reports about weapons and drugs and alcohol use that dropped. >>> and it's a wet wednesday. steve paulson will tell us what kind of weather we can expect during tomorrow's thanksgiving holiday. >>> and good morning. highway 4, westbound. you can see it's a little bit different from a normal day. we'll tell you where the traffic trouble spots are for this wednesday's commute. +ulk >>> we have video of panicked hikers in new zealand running away as a nearby volcano erupts. this erupted earlier today for the second time in three months. you can see the black dust and smoke rising from the active volcano. scientists say the eruption was completely unexpected. but everyone got off the mountain safely. >>> some victims of hurricane sandy are getting help from some people who are very famili